Quest For the Lost Clan
by Batstar of ShadowClan
Summary: Four cats must complete a quest to bring back SkyClan- who is in pieces. Along the way, the warriors must learn to compromise their completely different attitudes... and battle wolves, rouges, kittypets, dogs, and much, much, more. And once SkyClan comes back- how will the other Clans react? Reviews appreciated!
1. Prologue

"The end of their home draws near." A flame colored ginger tom padded out of the shadows. Three cats were already waiting beside a pool.

"It is time for another quest," a white tom meowed. He had a single black forepaw.

"I agree, Blackstar," meowed a lithe mottled tabby tom.

"Who will you chose, Onestar?" asked a light gray she-cat.

The lithe tabby padded forward and touched the water's surface with the tip of his tail, and when the ripples cleared, it showed a white tom with a glossy pelt. "Hailfur."

"That one?" snorted Blackstar. Despite them all being in StarClan, the four cats had been rivals for a long time and still retorted at each other at times.

"Let's see your choice, then," snapped Onestar. Blackstar flicked the water with his tail and the image changed to a reddish brown tabby tom, who was rather small.

"Redpaw!" gasped the gray she-cat. "He's an apprentice!"

"So was Crowpaw," retorted Blackstar. "I know Redpaw can do it."

"He's only seven moons old," noted Onestar.

"If Blackstar thinks he can, than he can," the ginger tom meowed calmly. The others fell silent.

"My turn." The gray she-cat padded to the edge of the pool, and flicked the water. "Aspensong."

"A wise choice," the ginger tom meowed, dipping his head.

"Well, Firestar?" prompted Onestar.

The ginger tom turned to the pool, and swept his tail over the water.

"Lichenfeather, Firestar!" gasped the gray she-cat. "She's a medicine cat apprentice!"

"Doesn't make a difference," Firestar meowed back. "Her fate lies…elsewhere."

The others were silent for a moment, then Blackstar nodded. "I see it."

"So, these are our final decisions?" asked the gray she-cat

"I believe, Mistystar," Firestar confirmed.

"Then let us send the message." Blackstar meowed. The four cats dipped their heads in good-bye and left in four different directions.


	2. Chapter 1

Redpaw woke up and stretched. His heart leaping, he immediately shot out of the den and grabbed fresh moss and headed up to the elders' den.

"Hello?" he asked quietly. Logfur and Owlfeather raised their heads. Good, they were both awake. The quicker he got done with his duties, the quicker he could get to training.

"Well, well, it's Redpaw again," muttered Owlfeather irritably, "always the early bird, eh? I was just sleeping."

"No you weren't, you were complaining about the moss," Logfur purred. "And now Redpaw's here to change it."

"Sure am," Redpaw replied, padding over. Logfur stepped out and Redpaw changed the moss quickly. Then, as Owlfeather, grumbling, clambered out, Redpaw changed her nest.

"Thanks," Logfur called out as Redpaw left in a hurry.

"Anytime!" Redpaw called out. He quickly discareded the old moss and ran towards the warriors' den. No one was awake but Hawkfury the deputy and Mistyeye the medicine cat.

"Morning, Redpaw!" Hawkfury yowled.

"Morning, Hawkfury!" Redpaw yowled back as he continued his way to the warriors' den. "Wake up, Wolfheart!" he shook his silver pelted mentor.

"What?" Wolfheart sleepily raised his head. "Redpaw?"

"Yeah, it's me!" Redpaw jumped up and down, earning an annoyed hiss from Marshtumble. "Oops, sorry about your tail."

"It's too early," grumbled Wolfheart, and slowly clambered out, taking his time stretching.

"Hurry, hurry!" Redpaw meowed impatiently, jumping up and down again, careful not to tread on Marshtumble's tail again.

"Be quiet!" snapped Tawnytail from the back of the den. "You'll wake the whole forest!"

"Sorry," Redpaw apologized, and stopped jumping. Tawnytail huffed.

"Okay, let's get out before Tawnytail pounces on us," Wolfheart purred, and signaled with his tail. The silver tom padded out of the den, eagerly followed by Redpaw.

"Redpaw, Wolfheart!" exclaimed Hawkfury. "Care to go on patrol?"

"Anytime," Redpaw meowed, speaking for both of them.

"Then we can go right now," meowed Hawkfury.

"Can I lead?" asked Redpaw eagerly.

Hawkfury exchanged a quick glance with Wolfheart. "Um, sure."

"Awesome!" Redpaw dashed in front of the two senior warriors. "Okay, patrol, let's head out!" tail high, he made his way out of camp, the two warriors following. This was, he mused, the first step, leading a patrol. Then, as he grew older, he would be leading the Clan.


	3. Chapter 2

"Lichenfeather! I need the watermint over here right now!" a stern voice yowled. Lichenfeather sighed and picked up the herbs she was gathering, and brought them over to her mentor, Quailfeather.

"Lichenfeather, can you help me pull out this thorn?" whined Sandypaw.

"Sure," Lichenfeather meowed gently, and pulled out the thorn. "Just ask Quailfeather for some cobwebs, and wrap it around the paw until it stops bleeding."

"Okay," Sandypaw said as she headed towards the medicine den without giving a thanks.

"Lichenfeather, can you watch the kits while I take a quick nap?" asked Dawnstripe, a queen.

"Of course," Lichenfeather replied. "Kits, come here!" Dawnstripe watched her for a moment, then swept off towards the nursery without a word.

Four kits squealed excitedly and pelted over to Lichenfeather, tumbling over each other.

"Lichenfeather! Can you gather some marigold for me, please?" yowled Quailfeather from the medicine den. "We're running low!"

"Just a moment, I'll do that!" Lichenfeather answered, trying to separate the now fighting kits. "Stop it, Basilkit!"

The small gray tom still continued to pound his brother Shadekit playfully.

"Basilkit!" scolded Lichenfeather. "Real warriors do not do that!" Basilkit stopped immediately.

"Sorry, Shadekit," he apologized, though Lichenfeather could see the glint in his eyes.

"Now, you kits behave yourselves!" Lichenfeather meowed. "I have to go run a quick medicine cat duty."

"Can we come?" asked Swankit excitedly.

"No," Lichenfeather apologized. "Just stay here and don't cause any trouble!" she scanned the clearing for warriors that were available to watch them. Everyone was busy, and she sighed.

Quailfeather was still tending to Sandypaw. "Hurry up, will you?"

"Sure, sure," Lichenfeather meowed, scrambling past. She quickly sniffed around in the forest, locating marigold near the lake. Collecting some of the stalks, she raced back to camp and dropped them off to Quailfeather, who was tending to the elders' inflamed joints

"Thank you," Quailfeather said curtly, immediately chewing them up, "and I think you should check on the kits…"

_What have they done now?_ Lichenfeather wondered, exasperated, as she quickly dashed into the clearing to check on the kits. They were not there…_where are they?_ "Someone's coming!" Lichenfeather heard Basilkit squeal from the medicine den.

Lizardnose passed the medicine den and peeked inside, and her eyes widened.

_What have they done to my herbs?!_ Thought Lichenfeather frantically, and she raced over, shoving Lizardnose aside.

"Sorry!" she apologized as the black she-cat let out a surprised screech. She stopped to quickly sniff the young warrior, then peered inside.

The medicine den was a total mess. Herbs were scattered around, not in neat piles. And the stinging nettle were nowhere to be seen…

"Um, Lichenfeather?" Breezekit approached Lichenfeather cautiously. "Sorry about the mess, but Shadekit got a bellyache and we went to look for some herbs, but we didn't know which one…. Now I think he's going to be sick!"

"Shadekit!" scolded Lichenfeather. The small brown kit was curled up in the corner of the den, his head hunched over. _Where are the willow leaves that stops vomiting? _Pawing the leaves frantically, she quickly tried to search for the herb.

Finally, she spotted them near the front of the cave, a single leaf lying on top of the pile. She reached out a paw—

"Watch out!" squealed Swankit, and Shadekit hurled, right on top of Lichenfeather. Lichenfeather took a deep breath to stop herself from snarling at the foolish kits. They should've asked Quailfeather, or at least waited. _But everyone's afraid of Quailfeather, even me._

"Oops," choked out Shadekit.

"It's fine," sighed Lichenfeather. She located some poppy seeds and pushed them over to the cowering kit. "Basilkit, take these to the nursery and make Shadekit eat them. Get some sleep, all of you."

"O-okay," Basilkit stammered.

Lichenfeather slowly padded out of the den, trying to not to attract attention…

"Lichenfeather! What happened!" exclaimed a voice. It was her overprotective brother, Fleetfoot.

"Nothing," responded Lichenfeather. "Just a little accident with Shadekit…" but by now most of the warriors were looking at her. Fur hot with embarrassment, she nodded a greeting to Fleetfoot and his patrol and hurried away from the camp.

Lichenfeather sighed as she plunged into the lake for a quick bath, crouching in the water and facing the lake as she listened to the songs of the birds and the whispers of the wind. It was quite nice to be alone, as it was a rare treat. Every day, it was Lichenfeather this, Lichenfeather that. Yet, she never got much respect, even from Sunstar. The Clan treated her like some sort of slave, expecting her to help out even if she was busy doing some other task.

"You help too much," a voice meowed from behind her. She turned around. Fleetfoot again. He had followed her.

"Can't you just leave me alone?" she snapped.

"No." He stepped into the water beside her, looking out into the still, clear water, silent for a moment. Lichenfeather knew how much he hated the water, like any normal ThunderClan cat, and knew that he really cared about his sister.

"I know how you feel," the sandy tom meowed quietly. "I had to spend many moons getting used to the transition from kit to apprentice, then from apprentice to warrior, and warrior to deputy. Being a deputy is hard work, having to manage more cats than yourself. I can only imagine the pressure Sunstar has… there are days when the moon shines directly down upon you at night, guiding you through the day's path. But there are other days when the moon wanes and you must find your own way. Yes, you will stumble quite a bit, but eventually, you'll find your way out."

Lichenfeather glanced at him then stared ahead, her mind processing what he just said. _But eventually, you'll find your way out._ "I'm still quite lost," she admitted.

"I know," responded Fleetfoot. "You're a smart cat, though, Lichenfeather, I know that. You'll find what you're looking for sooner or later, even if it does not lie in ThunderClan."


	4. Chapter 3

Aspensong followed the rest of the patrol around the forest. Blizzardfur paused and sniffed the air cautiously.

"I still smell that dog around," growled the gray-and-white tom.

"Maybe it's gone," suggested Aspensong.

"Perhaps it's not." Blizzardfur gazed out into the warm air, his expression hard. "We must chase it down and make sure it's gone."

"I think it went this way," Yellowtail meowed, flicking her tail left.

"Then we'll go that way," Blizzardfur said, nodding his head in approval. "Let's head out." The bulky warrior immediately headed that way, with his patrol running along in his wake.

"We are close," noted Beetletail.

"This paw print is fresh," said Aspensong, indicating a paw print on the ground.

"So it is," agreed Bizzardfur. He scanned the marshy ground.

"Hopefully, it has returned to its Twolegs and we won't have to risk another fight," Aspensong meowed.

Beetletail was suddenly in her face. "Are you a RiverClan warrior, or not? Coward! We must fight this dog for the safety of our Clan!"

Aspensong backed away. "I was just saying, maybe we have bigger battles to fight than this."

Beetletail snarled, but Blizzardfur shot him a warning glance, while Yellowtail looked uneasy. Aspensong flattened her ears.

"Sorry," she muttered.

"One should not be sorry for being optimistic," Blizzardfur said softly. Aspensong glanced at him. The gray-and-white warrior was looking at her intently.

"Let us continue," he said after a long, awkward silence. He lead the patrol down the trail of the dog.

They tracked the scent all the way to a Twoleg fence. Yellowtail peered through.

"I see the dog with the Twoleg," she reported. "I don't know if it's going to come out for a while."

"See? We are safe," Aspensong meowed, relieved. Really, it wasn't because she didn't want to fight (that too, though), but she didn't think it was worth it.

Yet, as the patrol headed back, she tried to convince herself of that.


	5. Chapter 4

"Hailfur, wake up! It's patrol time!" snapped a voice.

"Just a moment," murmured Hailfur, burrowing into his nest.

"No moments!" the voice growled, and Hailfur found himself being shaken violently.

"Okay, okay!" Hailfur protested, and forced his eyes open. _Ouch, the sun's so bright!_

"You'll be joining Whirlingstorm's patrol," the deputy, Whitepetal, meowed. "Don't keep him waiting."

_Oh no, why Whirlingstorm's patrol, of all patrols?_ Hailfur groaned inwardly. Everyone knew what a big, impatient, fox-head Whirlingstorm was. Even Hailfur knew not to keep the gray-and-white tom waiting.

Quickly, he stretched and hurried outside. There was Whirlingstorm, waiting with Seedfur and Amberblaze.

"Here at last," sighed Whirlingstorm. "Can you be any slower?"

Seedfur and Amberblaze twitched their ears in amusement. Hailfur scowled. "I'm awake now."

"So you are," agreed Whirlingstorm. "_Finally,_ we can head out." The gray-and-white tom signaled with his tail and strode out of camp, his patrol behind him.

"WOOF!"

The patrol all jerked their heads towards the sound. The sound of a dog.

"It must be that dog that RiverClan chased away," groaned Amberblaze.

"We must track it down!" Whirlingstorm declared.

_Duh,_ though Hailfur. _But give me the easy job, will you?_

The patrol sniffed around. Seedfur angled his ears forward. "It's over there, very near the Horseplace."

The patrol crept forwards silently. There was the dog, digging furiously for something.

"Okay, here's the plan," Whirlingstorm whispered, gathering his patrol around. "Hailfur, creep around the other side and attack it from the left. Amberblaze, get it from behind. And Seedfur, stay here. I'll go to the front. Don't give it a way to escape! We have to block all four sides! Wait for my signal, then we'll all attack at the same time."

Hailfur sighed. Why did _he_ have to move the farthest? He weaved around the trees, positioning himself so he could see only one side of the dog. Watching Whirlingstorm, he saw the large tom creeping around to the front of the dog, hiding among the bushes.

_This is so boring. Can't we just fight like, right now? Then we can get it over with._ Hailfur broke his gaze and looked around. A bug was crawling on a stick.

_Come on, bug,_ Hailfur thought. _Crawl to the—no! Don't fall off!_ Hailfur shot forward and scooped the bug up with a claw, and put him back on the stick.

Suddenly, three screeches rang throughout the clearing, and Hailfur jerked his attention from the bug, which had fallen again.

Amberblaze, Seedfur, and Whirlingstorm had attacked.

"Where is Hailfur?" screeched Seedfur.

"Here!" Hailfur jumped in, but a moment too late. He missed the dog and crashed onto the ground as the creature shook the three warriors off and made a run for Hailfur's side. Seedfur and Whirlingstorm immediately jumped up and gave chase, but the dog had already disappeared into the trees.

Whirlingstorm glared at Hailfur. "Good job. Now we have another burden to carry. What do you have to say to yourself?"

"Um…sorry?" Hailfur asked, truthfully not very sorry. "Ask someone else next time?"

"What are you, a kittypet?" asked Amberblaze, her eyes glinting with anger. "You shouldn't even be given the title _kit,_ much less warrior!"

* * *

Despite the very un-sorry apology that Hailfur had given, he soon found himself feeling very guilty and terribly sad for himself.

_I tried, isn't that an accomplishment in itself?_ Hailfur thought. Apparently, it was not. _I remember, back as an apprentice, I was congratulated for even the smallest mouse I caught, and envied by the others for every battle I fought in, even if we lost._ As a warrior, it was completely different. _Hey come on, I've only been a warrior for about two moons._

But two moons was the time when you were supposed to get an apprentice. As he watched his littermates and friends from kithood grow up and become warriors and train apprentices of their own, he had always stood to the side watching and cheering as Sparrowstar announced them mentors. He had never felt left out or envious.

"Good job, Hailfur," growled Hazellark as she passed him.

"Thanks," Hailfur called back sarcastically, looking back. "Oomph!" Dewfire walked past, caring to bump into his shoulder. "Watch it!"

"Watch what, the dog? I thought that was _your _job," sneered the she-cat.

Hailfur huffed and quickly up the hill and out of the camp, eager to get away all of a sudden.

_Why? _He wondered. _Why am I so bad at being a warrior?_

"Hailfur." A deep voice meowed behind him.

"What?" he snapped, bracing himself for another taunt. "Come to scold me again? I tried, okay? I just got distracted." He knew how lame the apology sounded.

"There is no consolation prize in the wild, Hailfur," the voice meowed. Hailfur turned around, expecting to see Sparrowstar. Instead, he found a mottled, light brown tom standing before him. He was rather small, but the stars glittered in his fur and his eyes shone with the wisdom of ages.

"Onestar," Hailfur meowed, dipping his head.

"Hailfur," Onestar repeated. "Stand up, and look at me. I see great power and strength in you, but yet you do not use it."

"Me?" Hailfur snorted, forgetting to be respectful. "You saw the way I handled the dog, didn't you? And you say I have 'power', and 'strength'? Nah, I'm just plain lazy." He looked away, embarrassed.

"You will never accomplish anything if you think that way," Onestar meowed, and Hailfur looked up. "Stop being so pessimistic. Think, 'I believe in myself.'"

"To do what?"

"Anything. And everything. I have a task for you," Onestar continued. "Meet four other cats at the base of the fallen log, and together you must bring back the lost Clan."

"Lost Clan?" repeated Hailfur. "There's another Clan? I thought there were only four, along with StarClan."

"The fifth," Onestar meowed impatiently, "is _lost._"

"Well, yeah," snorted Hailfur, "maybe that's why many think there's only four."

"You must bring it back," Onestar pressed.

"Me?" Hailfur backed away. "Whoa, whoa. I can't even attack a dog properly, much less go on a quest!"

"Meet three cats at the fallen log," repeated Onestar calmly, "after the Gathering."He turned away, his shape fading into the distance. Pausing, the lithe tabby looked back.

"And," he said, "I think you would learn something from this."


	6. Chapter 5

"Did you find anything weird?" asked Stonestar.

"Nope," Redpaw reported. Stonestar looked at him in surprise.

"He lead the patrol," Hawkfury meowed. "A rather good leader he would be."

Stonestar looked at Redpaw with a glimmer of pride. "I can see. Well done."

"Thanks." Redpaw turned to Wolfheart. "I'm going to train. Are you coming?"

Wolfheart narrowed his eyes. "And, I thought I was the one to say that. I am coming, let's go."

Redpaw eagerly dashed forward with his mentor and they headed to the training hollow.

"What do you want to do first?" Wolfheart asked.

"Can I try doing that jump attack on you again?" Redpaw mewed.

"Yeah, sure." Wolfheart positioned himself, crouching down, eyes narrowed.

Before the silver tom could say "go", Redpaw launched himself at Wolfheart. He darted in, raked his sheathed claws down his mentor's flank, and darted away again.

Wolfheart's large paw flashed and immediately knocked Redpaw aside. Redpaw growled, frustrated, and tried the move again, this time watching out for Wolfheart's paw. Wolfheart jumped aside as Redpaw rushed at him.

"Stop," he commanded, and Redpaw stopped.

_This was just starting to get fun! I need to learn this move quickly so I can go to the next!_ Redpaw thought impatiently.

"You moved too slowly," Wolfheart criticized. "If you had darted away quicker, I would not have caught you with my paw."

_Do you have to be so lambaste?_ "Okay," he meowed, keeping his voice even. "Can I try it again?"

Wolfheart nodded, and Redpaw jumped at him again, darting away more quicker and further.

Wolfheart shot at Redpaw like a snake and knocked him off of his paws. Redpaw quickly regained his posture and lunged at Wolfheart, his anger at not being able to master the move quickly building up. Wolfheart simply stepped aside and Redpaw crashed to the ground. Panting, Redpaw struggled to get up, but found himself pinned to the ground by Wolfheart. Redpaw struggled, but Wolfheart prevailed.

"You let your anger take over," the silver tom murmured. "Try to be a little more patient, and start again."

He released Redpaw and Redpaw stood up, silently seething. This was going to be a long day…

Exhausted, Redpaw padded to his nest and sank into it tiredly.

"Did you learn that jumping move yet?" asked Whitepaw.

"No," snapped Redpaw, still in a bad mood.

"Well, you will, knowing you," Whitepaw continued. "I know you can do it."

_I don't want pity encouragement,_ Redpaw thought angrily. _I want real praise, because of my accomplishments!_

"Just don't talk to me," Redpaw spat, and closed his eyes tight.

When he opened his eyes, he was standing in the ShadowClan forest. A white cat with black paws padded out of the forest.

Redpaw narrowed his eyes. This cat he knew from the many stories. It was the famed Blackstar, who had lead his Clan out of the forest and into the Lake territory, and helped defeat the Dark Forest.

"Blackstar." Redpaw stared ahead, his anger still brimming inside him.

"Redpaw." Blackstar met Redpaw's proud gaze evenly. "I have a job for you."

"Well, make it quick," snapped Redpaw, getting impatient, "I have to train tomorrow to become the next leader after Hawkfury!"

"You really think Stonestar will die so easily?" asked Blackstar, his eyes glinting. Mind you, Rowanstar made a wise choice in picking Stonestar. He is not one to give up, and neither are you."

_You got that right._ "I will _never_ give up!" growled Redpaw. "I will become leader, even if it takes me seventeen moons, which it should not!"

"That's some spirit," murmured Blackstar. "It will take a lot more than seventeen moons."

"So, what's my task?" asked Redpaw impatiently.

"Bring back the lost Clan," Blackstar meowed simply.

"What lost Clan?" Redpaw frowned.

"SkyClan." Blackstar looked at Redpaw intently. "Meet three other cats at the base of the fallen log. You must journey west until you pass a Twolegplace, then a large boggy forest, and finally, SkyClan. Their home is coming to an end. You must bring them back, and make the four Clans five."


	7. Chapter 6

Lichenfeather raced around camp, her jaws full of herbs. She was to deliver them to the nursery, where Basilkit had come down with a cold.

"Here, eat these," she panted, skidding into the nursery and dropping the herbs off. "Afterwards eat the poppy seeds so you can sleep properly."

"Shhh!" snapped Dawnstripe. "He's sleeping! You'll wake him up!"

Lichenfeather flattened her ears. "Sorry."

Dawnstripe nodded curtly. Lichenfeather had never liked her; Dawnstripe had always been rude to her.

"Lichenfeather, does this bird have maggots?" yowled Sandypaw from across the camp. Lichenfeather bounded towards her, claws scraping the nursery cave noisily. Dawnstripe hissed in annoyance.

"Yes, yes it does," Lichenfeather meowed as she examined the robin. "Don't eat it."

"I wasn't about to," muttered Sandypaw, and Lichenfeather caught a word that made her heart sting.

Pretending that she didn't hear, Lichenfeather slowly padded away and stared around camp. Everyone was busy doing something except her; no one seemed to need her help, and it didn't feel quite right.

"Go take a break," said a voice in her ear. It was Fleetfoot.

"A break?" she spluttered. "What if I'm needed here?"

"Not right now, you're not," Fleetfoot retorted. "Go on."

Lichenfeather glanced back at him, then padded out of camp. _Where should I go?_

_ The Moonpool,_ said a voice in the back of her head. Yes, that sounded like a good place, but it was too far. She would need travelling herbs.

And it wasn't half-moon yet.

"Lichenfeather."

She spun around. "F-Firestar?"

"Indeed," he meowed, his green eyes sparkling. "I have a message."

"For what?" she asked miserably.

"A quest," Firestar meowed in a hushed whisper, and Lichenfeather stood still.

"A quest?" she echoed.

"Yes," he said, "to bring back what has been lost."

"What has been lost?" she prompted.

"SkyClan." Firestar's eyes clouded. "Their home is in ruins. They are distraught. You must bring them back. Make what is four five."

"How do I do that?" she asked. "I can't do that."

"Helping others is your best move," he meowed gently. "This Clan needs your help more than any other. Tonight, at the Gathering, meet three other cats. You must journey far and wide to find SkyClan…"


	8. Chapter 7

"The dog's gone," reported Yellowtail.

"Good," Larkstar meowed, "did you give it a couple of scratches to show that it shouldn't come again?"

_Why does everyone here think it's okay to fight anytime?_ Thought Aspensong bitterly.

"No," Blizzardfur chimed in, "it returned to its Twolegs before we could do anything big. I don't know if it ran off again or not."

"Aspensong didn't want to fight," Beetletail had to say, glaring at her. "She's been all like, 'be peaceful' and 'don't shed blood every single time' and all that. Honestly, why is she even a warrior?"

Aspensong looked down in shame as she felt her fur grow hot. Larkstar looked furious.

"Beetletail, that is a very rude thing to say!" she snarled. "Just because a cat doesn't think it's necessary to fight doesn't mean she's a coward!"

"Sorry," drawled Beetletail.

_Maybe I should become a medicine cat,_ thought Aspensong miserably.

"Oh stop it, Aspensong," a voice snapped. Aspensong looked around. A gray she-cat had appeared next to her; Beetletail and the others had disappeared.

"Mistystar?" Aspensong guessed.

"Yes," Mistystar replied. "Stop moping around. What you think is right to you, and not to others. Do not let cats like Beetletail bring you down."

Aspensong sighed. "I just don't think violence is the solution to everything."

"It's not," Mistystar agreed. "Sometimes, you have to work together to achieve a goal."

Aspensong looked at Mistystar sideways. "Are you trying to tell me something?"

"Good job." Mistystar's eyes glittered. "I have something for you to do, Aspensong."

"What's that?"

"A quest," Mistystar said, her voice ominous, "a quest to bring back SkyClan."

* * *

"Tonight is the Gathering," announced Sparrowstar. "The cats who will be going are: Whitepetal, Hazellark, Dewfire, Amberblaze, Seedfur, Graypaw, Whirlingstorm, Jaggedclaw, Tigerfire, and Blazetail."

"Wait," Hailfur meowed as Sparrowstar concluded the meeting, "I have to go too."

"Why?" asked Sparrowstar, narrowing his eyes. "You do not deserve to go, from what I heard about today."

Hailfur looked down in shame. "I know. But I received a message from Onestar himself. I have to meet three other cats at the Gathering for something…"

He trailed off as Sparrowstar shook his head. "I'm sorry, but Onestar has not communicated with us for a long time. I'm not sure I believe you."

And with that, he turned away, leaving a distraught Hailfur behind as warriors streamed past him, giving him glares.

* * *

_What do you mean, I can't go?_ Hailfur thought desperately. _I have to go. Onestar said clearly…_

But what if Onestar was wrong? _I can't do anything right. I barely passed my assessment for warrior. _

Still, a glimmer of pride glowed inside him. Onestar had picked him specially, sought him out, for the quest. He should complete this; if he did, it would change everything. The way his fellow WindClan warriors looked at him, the way Sparrowstar treated him.

_I am going to the Gathering, and I don't care what you think, Sparrowstar,_ Hailfur thougth furiously. And with that, he marched out of camp.


	9. Chapter 8

"ThunderClan's here already," said a voice. Redpaw poked his head through the crowd and peeked. Yes, there was the group of mangle-pelts, standing in the middle of the clearing.

"Hey! Move over! Stop looking like you own the whole Island!" he yowled.

"Redpaw!" Beside him, Wolfheart looked disgusted. Robinfur shot him a dirty look, and he backed down. _Oops. _

"I'm sorry about that, Sunstar," Stonestar called out as Sunstar scowled from the Great Oak. "Our apprentice still needs to learn to control himself." He glared at Redpaw.

_What?_ He thought bitterly. _They should stop looking so arrogant. _

Several ThunderClan cats turned up their noses as he walked by. Redpaw snorted and turned away, too.

But the clearing was already full of happy, talking warriors. ShadowClan had begun to mingle with ThunderClan, and soon Redpaw was pushed to the side of the clearing.

_I have no one to talk to. Why does no one want to talk to me? I'm better than most of the cats in ShadowClan. I'm better than all the apprentices. _

Still, as WindClan and RiverClan began to trickle in, no one paid him any attention.

Not wanting to look stupid, Redpaw pushed his way through, towards the warriors talking at the bottom of the Great Oak.

"Hi, can I join you guys?" he asked a RiverClan and ThunderClan warrior, who were talking together.

"Um, no," the ThunderClan tom sneered, "stop looking like you can butt into every conversation."

_Okay. Jeez._ Redpaw turned up his nose and padded away, annoyance flaring inside him. He got turned down by another group. _What is up with all these rude warriors?_

"Hello, Redpaw! You can always join us!" a voice called. Redpaw sighed and turned around. He hated those kind of pitying invitations.

It was Mistyeye the medicine cat.

"No, thanks," Redpaw called back with venom in his voice. _I don't want to talk about stupid herbs. _

A group of warriors passed by. A WindClan tom jostled Redpaw into the medicine cat crowd.

"Sorry," he grumbled, not sounding very sorry.

_Jerk._ Redpaw glared at the WindClan tom, who didn't look back; in fact, the tom looked scared and secretive. _Is he not supposed to be here? He's really chubby._

"Are you okay, Redpaw?" asked Lichenfeather of ThunderClan.

"I'm fine," Redpaw mumbled. Lichenfeather still looked worried but Redpaw shook his head impatiently.

"So, how's apprentice training going?" asked Gorsetail cheerfully.

"Fine," Redpaw snapped, desperately wishing he wasn't here. But to pull out of the conversation suddenly was known to be very rude, and he didn't want to make his healer angry.

"The Gathering is about to begin." Sparrowstar of WindClan's voice sounded right above Redpaw. He looked up, tipping his head.

The medicine cats quieted down and the Clans fell silent. Sparrowstar's voice rang out, clear and strong.

"WindClan is doing fine. We have spotted a dog, possibly from RiverClan"—he glared at Larkstar, who scowled back—"but we have dealt with it. Otherwise, we are doing fine."

"ShadowClan is doing fine, too." Stonestar pushed his way forward. "We have seen no dogs so far, but we will watch out for any."

"So will ThunderClan," growled Sunstar, jostling Stonestar aside.

"And RiverClan will drive any dog out of its territory, and hopefully it won't go into any of the other ones," Larkstar piped up, jumping in front of Sunstar.

"Why are the leaders being so hostile?" whispered Mistyeye.

_Duh. They're rivals._ Redpaw rolled his eyes. _The only question is why _aren't _you being hostile?_

Suddenly, thunder rumbled. The warriors glanced up fearfully. The clouds were beginning to cover the moon.

"StarClan is mad!" yowled a warrior.

"This Gathering has ended!" cried Stonestar, and he jumped off the Great Oak.

"Lichenfeather, hurry up! We'll be late for the Moonpool!" Quailfeather, Lichenfeather's mentor, skidded to a stop and looked back impatiently. Rain had started pouring, and the wind blew strongly.

"I can't!" Lichenfeather meowed. "I…I need to do something!"

Quailfeather looked at her weirdly. Redpaw was having trouble balancing against the strong howls of the wind. Other warriors began to lose their balance.

"What is it?" asked the dark brown she-cat.

"It's… it's something I need to do. Alone," Lichenfeather meowed. She looked back and noticed Redpaw. "Need help?"

"No," Redpaw said through gritted teeth. The rain was blurring his vision terribly and he struggled to stand up. Step by step, very slowly, he followed Lichenfeather towards the fallen log.

Being closest by the Great Oak, they were the last ones out. By the time the last Clan retreated, Redpaw could see two shapes standing at the base of the fallen log.

_Are those the two cats I'm supposed to meet? Where's the third?_

But Lichenfeather stumbled over to them and stood with them. Redpaw let out an inward groan. If Lichenfeather was on this quest, she would stymie everyone by trying to help everything, even the smallest blade of grass.

"Are you the three cats Mistystar told me to meet?" asked a tortoiseshell she-cat warily.

"Looks like it," grumbled Redpaw. _Gosh. These warriors look like a bunch of losers. _The tortoiseshell just looked tired. Lichenfeather couldn't even fight. The white tom from WindClan, who had bumped into Redpaw earlier, was really fat, and didn't look like he wanted to be there at all.

"Okay," he announced, trying to take charge, "first of all, who are you? I'm Redpaw."

They all looked at one another awkwardly while Redpaw waited impatiently for them to answer. Finally, Lichenfeather spoke up.

"I'm Lichenfeather."

"I'm Aspensong," the tortoiseshell chimed in, relieved to have someone answer before her.

"Hailfur," mumbled the white tom after a long pause.

"Pleased to meet your acquaintances," Redpaw announced forcefully.

"You too," Lichenfeather meowed supportively. Redpaw tried not to scowl. _You don't have to be like a sympathetic mother._

The two other warriors exchanged a smirk, and Redpaw was furious.

"All right," he growled, "let's get this quest started with." He started to move forward.

"Wait a minute," the white tom Hailfur called, "first of all, who said _you_ could lead this quest? And second of all, do you even know where we're going?"

Redpaw glanced back, narrowing his eyes. "Well, to answer your first question, _I _say I could lead this, because none of you look capable of—"

"Excuse me," growled Aspensong, "are you calling us weak?"

"Maybe," retorted Redpaw stupidly.

"I've heard enough of that," Hailfur snarled. Aspensong nodded. "I don't need someone else to tell me."

* * *

"Please," begged Lichenfeather, "we're supposed to work _together_, not separately!"

The three other warriors glared at her.

"Let's at least _try_ to cooperate," she continued hurriedly, because Redpaw was starting to look murderous and Hailfur looked as if he was about to bail. "Firestar told me that we had to journey all the way to a Twolegplace and pass through it. Does anyone know where the Twolegplace is?"

Redpaw definitely didn't look happy for her taking charge, but she stood her ground and looked them firmly in the eye. Finally, Aspensong mumbled, "I think it's by our territory. It's north of it."

"Thank you," Lichenfeather meowed in her most gentle voice she could muster, which wasn't much. "Let's go there, then."

She padded on ahead. There was a pause, then reluctant pawsteps behind her. The rain thundered on their pelts.

"Can we at least rest for tonight?" called Hailfur from behind.

"No," retorted Redpaw. He started to speed up until he passed Lichenfeather, and he walked on ahead proudly.

"Stop!" Aspensong snarled. "This is RiverClan territory! _I_ get to lead."

And with that, she pushed past Redpaw and took the front. Redpaw grumbled incoherently and fell behind, keeping close to the tortoiseshell she-cat.

Aspensong lead them through the bog and past the tall, wet grass. The tips stuck to her fur, and Lichenfeather had to lift her legs high into the air to get through. Behind her, Hailfur was gasping already.

"Come on," she called encouragingly, "you can do it."

Hailfur grunted as he jumped through the grass. At the other end, Aspensong and Redpaw were waiting. Lichenfeather stopped for the white tom to catch up.

"Can…we…have…a…small break?" he panted once he reached her. His white fur was already matted down and dirty with river water.

"Just a bit more," she mewed gently, and nudged him. "You go first."

With a small groan, Hailfur began to jump through the reeds again, splashing water inadvertently into her face. She wrinkled her nose and followed him grudgingly.

"Yes!" Hailfur flopped onto the other side at Aspensong's paws, who backed up in disgust. Redpaw grinned crookedly.

"I thought WindClan cats were supposed to be light and fast on their feet," he teased. Lichenfeather glared at him.

Hailfur scowled. "Not all cats are like that."

"Obviously," Redpaw replied scathingly.

Hailfur picked himself up. "What are you suggesting?" he growled.

"In case you haven't gotten it through your thick head—"

"Redpaw!" Lichenfeather growled. "Why are you being so mean?"

"He's from another Clan!" Redpaw shouted through the rain. "I can't help it!"

Hailfur glared at him.

"Okay." Lichenfeather took a deep breath to calm herself. "Let's settle down. Redpaw, apologize."

Redpaw pressed his lips together.

"Redpaw," Lichenfeather meowed through gritted teeth, "_now._"

"S'rry," mumbled the russet tom quietly.

"Louder."

"Sorry," he meowed, not sounding very sorry.

* * *

Aspensong walked shoulder-to-shoulder with Lichenfeather, right behind Redpaw, but she hung back warily.

The dark brown-red tom radiated a horrible aura of arrogance and insolence that she despised. He was the very cat she hated, the kind of cat where every single kind of personality she disliked was mushed together and placed into a single life form.

Hailfur even made work to keep up, grunting with the effort. He was behind her and Lichenfeather by about a couple of tail-lengths, but he was nonetheless making progress.

Redpaw, meanwhile, marched ahead proudly, glancing here and there, his tail waving in the rain.

They slogged ahead silently.

"I'm going to scout ahead," Redpaw announced after a short while. They had left the reeds and bogs of RiverClan far behind and reached forest territory. Beyond that should've lay the Twolegplace, or as Aspensong had been told. She hoped desperately that there weren't any dangers in the woods; she was, and never would be, up for a fight.

"Go ahead," Hailfur panted. Once Redpaw had disappeared, he muttered, "good riddance."

Aspensong could not do anything but agree silently. Then, Redpaw's screech ripped through the tensed air.

"Wolf!"

* * *

"There are _wolves_ in this part of the territory?" exclaimed Aspensong. Hailfur felt a spike of fear shoot through him. How could he defeat a wolf if he couldn't even drive away a dog? And they expected him to fight—Lichenfeather couldn't, and from what he knew, Aspensong was way too cowardly.

And he was also.

"Go! Warriors, go save him!" shrieked Lichenfeather.

Aspensong and Hailfur exchanged a terror filled glance.

"I don't want to save that mangle-pelt—"

"Hurry!" Lichenfeather called out. She left them and pounded into the woods alone.

Shaking her head, Aspensong dashed after her.

"What are you doing?" Hailfur panted, running half-heartedly after her.

"She can't go in there alone!" Aspensong said, pelting along beside him. "She'll get killed—"

She cut off like she didn't finish her statement, and Hailfur could tell that it wasn't because she was out of breath. He could hear the end of it: _she'll get killed, and we'll be the only two left._

_I see great strength and power in you, yet you do not use it._ Onestar's words rang in his head. _Am I really that good? Do I really have that potential?_

"Come on, Hailfur!" Aspensong said impatiently. Ahead of them, Redpaw and Lichenfeather were putting up a fight with a huge wolf twice Hailfur's size. He gulped.

_I see great strength and power in you._

Determination rippled through him. Did he really want to be left alone with Aspensong to complete this quest? Did he really want to come back looking sloppy and lazy?

_Everyday, I'm sloppy and lazy, and it's okay,_ Hailfur thought, _because I don't die. I'm still alive. I still live my life. _

But he remembered the way the others treated him.

_You're not worthy of being a warrior!_

_ You're so bad at fighting, even a kit could beat you!_

This wolf was not a kit.

"Hailfur, stop standing there!" screeched Aspensong, who had joined the fight. They weren't doing good…

He gritted his teeth. What was the loss in losing? A death? At least, he could die and the others would leave him alone… even with his lazy nature, Hailfur wasn't prepared to die a laid-back death. He would rather go down with a fight.

And if he won… then that was an accomplishment in itself, even if it didn't count for the mission…

Hailfur shut his eyes and leapt at the wolf. Surprised by the extra weight, it bucked and threw Redpaw, who was tiny compared to the silver creature, off. Hailfur dug his claws into its back and clung on, biting it.

The wolf howled and began to shake its pelt. Hailfur clawed at it desperately, and jumped off. The wolf glared at him.

Aspensong lay in the shadows nearby, Lichenfeather accompanying her. The wolf advanced towards them, teeth bared. Redpaw lay still nearby.

"No!" Hailfur heaved himself up and dashed in front of the two she-cats. He couldn't let Lichenfeather die; she had already helped him so much, and he liked her already. With all his might, he heaved a quick strike towards the wolf's muzzle.

The wolf growled and recoiled, new blood springing from the lash. It launched itself at him, and Hailfur stood on his hind legs and pushed back with new power. He over-pushed the wolf and they both tumbled down, Hailfur landing flat on his belly.

The wolf recovered quicker, and Hailfur soon found himself pinned to the ground.

"Help!" he screeched, unable to move. His belly was pressed deep into the mud.

A new weight lifted the wolf's off of him. Hailfur jumped up, his belly aching terribly, but stood up nonetheless. Redpaw was again fighting with the wolf; Lichenfeather was repairing Aspensong's leg, which had a long gash in it.

_Can you treat me, too? _To himself, Hailfur thought that his wounds were far worse than Aspensong's.

"Go help Redpaw!" Lichenfeather chided, looking past Hailfur. Hailfur glanced back, and was surprised to see Redpaw on the ground, the wolf running towards him. Redpaw looked defeated.

Hailfur gritted his teeth. His vision was beginning to blur, and his head was spinning, but he ran towards the wolf and head-rammed it in the side. They both tumbled to the side, and Hailfur scrambled up.

As if it was a piece of prey, he bit down on its neck. The wolf let out a long howl, and Hailfur bit it again.

It stopped, and dropped limp.

He looked up, panting and feeling if he was about to vomit. Looking around, he saw Redpaw glaring at him with fury and envy, Lichenfeather looking surprised but pleased, and Aspensong looking relieved.

From these reactions, he experienced, and feeling ashamed because of it, a glimmer of pride. He had given the last bite, the killing bite to the wolf. He had killed a wolf! With help, but still!

Trying not to huff and puff, he walked over to Redpaw. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," grumbled the russet tom. "I'm fine. I can deal with myself, thanks."

"Okay then," Hailfur replied, shrugging nonchalantly. "So… shall we head off?"

"Certainly not!" Lichenfeather exclaimed. Hailfur's heart sank a bit. He had expected some praise…

"We are in no fit condition to continue," she jabbered on. "Aspensong, Redpaw and From these reactions, he experienced, and feeling ashamed because of it, a glimmer of pride. He had given the last bite, the killing bite to the wolf. He had killed a wolf! With help, but still!

Trying not to huff and puff, he walked over to Redpaw. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," grumbled the russet tom. "I'm fine. I can deal with myself, thanks."

"Okay then," Hailfur replied, shrugging nonchalantly. "So… shall we head off?"

"Certainly not!" Lichenfeather exclaimed. Hailfur's heart sank a bit. He had expected some praise…

"We are in no fit condition to continue," she jabbered on. "Aspensong, Redpaw and _you_ are all severely wounded!"

And with that, she muttered, sending Aspensong, who she had treated the worst wounds, to retrieve cobwebs from nearby logs and Redpaw to sit down and rest. Hailfur remained standing, feeling very proud of himself.

"Hailfur," she meowed, looking him in the eye, "that was brilliant, but even the best warriors—" Redpaw snorted—"need a break. Sit down beside Redpaw and don't say anything."

Hailfur happily obliged.


	10. Chapter 9

Redpaw felt outraged. Hailfur, the fat cat, the lazy one, the sloppy non-warrior, had killed a _wolf_? And what had he, Redpaw done? Got tossed around by that stupid creature like a toy.

He could not fathom how Hailfur had managed to defeat the wolf while he, Redpaw, couldn't. It was simply a phenomenon.

"Are you okay?" Lichenfeather asked after she had finished treating the last of Hailfur's wounds.

"Yeah, it kinda hurts," Hailfur replied, wincing as he placed his weight on his injured leg, which the wolf had bitten down hard. "Can we wait until tomorrow?"

"No," Redpaw retorted, "we should go now. The faster we finish this—"

"It's not too late to turn back," Aspensong said softly.

Redpaw glared at her. "How can you think of turning back? On our Clans? On SkyClan? On this quest? What are you?"

Aspensong met his proud gaze evenly. "I do not believe in fighting every time. I believe we should rest before we do anything."

She then cowered. Redpaw felt the sharp feeling of pride that he had won another argument. _But I still didn't beat the wolf. _

"But I think that we should help SkyClan, yes," Aspensong said in a smaller voice.

"I agree with Hailfur and Aspensong," Lichenfeather chimed in, "that we should rest. There's just no _point_ in continuing if we have so severe injuries. We'll just worsen them."

Redpaw sighed.

"You can do some good," Lichenfeather meowed, turning back to Hailfur, "to catch prey for us."

"Fine," he snapped, and he trudged through the woods, angrily stepping on sticks and branches, making as much noise as possible. Still, he managed to catch two birds.

The other cats' eyes brightened at the sight of food. Aspensong sighed.

"Oh goodie," she exclaimed, "I'm hungry after all that."

"You're not the only one," Hailfur added, reaching for the birds.

Redpaw dropped them and pawed them towards him, glaring at her. "Whoa. Whoa. I caught these. I get the first bite."

"Out of both of these?" Aspensong said in disbelief. "I think that Hailfur should at least get first bite out of the other bird. He, after all, just saved all of us."

"Nah, it was nothing," Hailfur shrugged.

_Yeah. It was nothing._

Silently fuming, Redpaw grudgingly tossed the other bird over. Hailfur took a small bite and pushed it over to Lichenfeather, who smiled at him and they began to share.

"Guess that just leaves you and I," Aspensong meowed grudgingly, padding over to him.

Redpaw frowned. Aspensong didn't seem to do anything. He took large bites to show that the bird was his, but Aspensong made no mark that she noticed. Instead, she raised a brow at him and as they settled down to sleep, making sure that she slept farthest away.

But he slept alone anyways, in the corner of a tangle of tree roots, watching the others slump together in a patch of soft flowers under the moonlight.

* * *

Lichenfeather woke to the feel of Hailfur and Aspensong beside her. She looked up. The moon was still shining high in the sky, and it gave no sign that it was going to leave anytime soon.

She glanced around. Redpaw was snoring alone in the roots of a tree. Sighing and feeling a strong pity for the arrogant tom, she clambered up and quietly padded over to Redpaw. She could feel the tom shivering in the damp, cold air, and pressed against him as she settled down beside him.

"What—"

Lichenfeather woke. It was dawn, and Redpaw had awoken, staring at her through narrowed eyes.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, venom dripping in his voice.

"I'm keeping you warm," she said in as gentle of a voice as possible.

"I don't need warmth," Redpaw retorted briskly. "I don't have room for warmth in my life. I need power. Power and strength."

"Sometimes," Lichenfeather meowed, "warmth will get you both."

"I doubt it," snorted Redpaw, and Lichenfeather had to agree with him silently.

He stood up and shook his pelt, walking off into the distance.

"Where are you going?" asked a sleepy voice. Aspensong had awoke, and Hailfur was still snoring beside her. She looked disgusted at the tom's awkward, splay-legged position but clambered up and walked towards Redpaw.

"We should go," he meowed authoratively.

"Why?"

"Faster we get to SkyClan," he replied, looking over his shoulder, "faster we—"

"Get this done and get rid of us," finished Hailfur dully.

"Right," Redpaw meowed, sounding rather ashamed, after a long pause.

In a desperate attempt to break the silence, Lichenfeather meowed, "let's eat, shall we? Does anyone have the energy to hunt?"

"I already did yesterday," Redpaw meowed, surprising Lichenfeather. "Aspensong, can you—"

She shifted her paws.

"I'll do it," snapped Hailfur. Redpaw arched his eyebrows, but Lichenfeather glared at him. Hailfur pushed past Redpaw and stalked into the woods.

They waited. A long time later, when Lichenfeather's stomach was growling loudly, Hailfur returned with two very small mice.

"That's it?" Redpaw asked, disgusted.

Hailfur shrugged and placed them at his paws. "That's all there was. If you don't want it, fine."

Redpaw said nothing and pulled one of the mice towards him, gobbling it up. Lichenfeather took one bite out of the other and left it for the other two warriors.

Suddenly, a wolf's howl jerked them all. Hailfur narrowed his eyes.

"That can't be good."

"No, really," Redpaw snorted sarcastically. But he nodded his head and meowed, "they must've been searching for the one we killed."

Hailfur scowled at the "we", but furrowed his brow. "We should move quickly."

"Yes, I agree," Aspensong joined in hurriedly, "we don't need to—"

"Fight if we don't have to," finished Redpaw impatiently.

_Only two days into the quest,_ Lichenfeather thought, _and we're completing each other's statements. _

Aspensong looked down but she nodded slowly.

"Let's get out of here," Hailfur whined, his voice shaking slightly as the howling sounded again, this time nearer. Pawsteps were soon heard.

"I thought you could fight off wolves," Redpaw retorted, his eyes blazing angrily.

"Redpaw, this is no time to be cocky and stupid!" Lichenfeather snapped. "Let's hurry and move!"

Aspensong immediately pelted across the meadow that the forest opened up to. Hailfur followed without question. Lichenfeather looked back to make sure Redpaw was following, but the reddish apprentice was standing firmly on the ground.

"What are you doing?" she shrieked as the wolves came nearer.

"I'm—"

She roughly shoved Redpaw, who stumbled forward and glared at her. "Move! Now!"

"Fine!" he yowled and followed Aspensong and Hailfur, who were now a quarter of the way across the meadow. Redpaw and Lichenfeather easily caught up; she could see now that the only thing blocking them from safety was a Thunderpath, where monsters were busily roaring past.

"We can't cross!" Aspensong and Hailfur had made it to the path. "There's too many monsters!"

"And there's too many wolves!" Hailfur cried out, looking back fearfully. Lichenfeather followed his gaze. At least ten wolves were following them, green eyes narrowed, jaws parted in excitement and hunger, dripping with mouth foam. The one in the lead was by far the largest, a huge silver male with gleaming sharp teeth and paws big enough to crush Redpaw.

"Oh StarClan," whimpered Aspensong. Hailfur tensed and braced himself, tiredness and worry gleaming in his yellow eyes. Redpaw scowled and bunched his haunches beside him. Lichenfeather prayed to StarClan and prepared to die.

"The Thunderpath's clear!" Hailfur yowled, and immediately started running onto it. Aspensong followed, but Redpaw still stood there like before, legs apart, jaws bared, hissing.

"Redpaw, stop being an idiot!" Aspensong stopped in the middle of the path. Hailfur had made it to the other side already, and was watching, panting.

"I'll fight you—" he snarled.

Lichenfeather impatiently grabbed Redpaw by the scruff, and he let out a protesting yowl as she began to drag him on the Thunderpath along with her.

The lead wolf began to follow but quickly stopped. Lichenfeather felt a stab of confusion. Why? It had started wimping and backing away.

"Lichenfeather, Redpaw! Watch out!" Aspensong yowled, her eyes wide with terror. Suddenly, the roar of a monster sounded out of nowhere. Terror shot through her, and she saw it, the monster, ten times larger than the wolf, no, twenty, and heading straight for her.

"Oh my thrushes!" gasped Redpaw.

Lichenfeather didn't even bother scolding Redpaw for swearing. She braced herself. Although it was still a bit off, it was coming up quick, and she had no power to drag herself and Redpaw over. And she couldn't ditch Redpaw, no matter how much she hated him.

The monster's head wasn't even visible now; she could only see its snout, with its eyes glaring at her. She curled her body around Redpaw and prepared to die.

Suddenly, a force shot out and pulled both her and Redpaw away. The monster roared past, its rancid breath ruffling her fur.

* * *

Everything happened so quickly, Aspensong didn't even have time to process the events until afterwards.

Lichenfeather and Redpaw had never gotten hit; instead, they lay on the grass panting, Hailfur standing over them.

"H-Hailfur?" she asked questioningly.

"I did it," he gasped through vigorous pants. "I did it. I saved them…"

"That's the second time," Lichenfeather purred raggedly, and licked him on the cheek in thanks. "Thank you."

Hailfur drew back at the close touch, then meowed gruffly, "I'll do it again if I have to."

He was looking past Lichenfeather at Redpaw.

The small apprentice was beginning to stir. Aspensong frowned. What would Redpaw say when he realized that Hailfur had saved his life a second time?

"Ungh… what happened?" moaned Redpaw.

Aspensong approached him. "You almost got hit by a monster but Hailfur saved you."

"Hailfur?" he looked up in confusion, then his gaze directed towards the white tom.

His eyes were completely unreadable. It was hard to tell, by his sudden ragged breaths, whether he was furious or thankful.

"Redpaw?" Lichenfeather asked in concern.

Redpaw, looking frail and tired, forced himself up. Lichenfeather began to protest, but he didn't listen.

Redpaw pushed past Hailfur. "Thanks," Aspensong heard him mutter very softly. Then, he walked deeper into the meadow. The other three watched him carefully. He gazed around, sniffing, then looked back, grim determination and anger lighting his eyes. "We'd best be going."

Hailfur did not know what Redpaw thought of him saving his life. Of course, on the inside, Hailfur was still recovering from the shock.

He had, by some sort of instinct, moved so quickly that the monster just passed them. He did not know what had stirred within him, but the sight of Lichenfeather, his friend, and Redpaw, a cat he knew, on the road was enough to make him risk his own life to save theirs.

Redpaw was taking the lead again. Hailfur could smell the Twolegplace, and knew they were nearing their first destination.

The wolves had been left behind. They had howled and retreated as the monsters roared by. They were safe for now.

"I wonder what'll be in the Twolegplace?" murmured Aspensong beside him.

"Nothing good," growled Hailfur, feeling a spike of trepidation. "The faster we get there, the faster we get out."

"Let's go," Redpaw meowed, his voice full of determination.


	11. Chapter 10

"Stonestar?" Wolfheart padded into his den, his eyes lighting with worry. Warriors usually didn't dare intrude during his sleep; they knew how cranky he could be.

"What?" Stonestar snapped, blinking sleep from his eyes.

"I can't find Redpaw," Wolfheart said, "I've looked everywhere. He's been gone since the Gathering."

"What?" Stonestar stood up. "Is anyone else missing?"

Wolfheart shook his head. "Not as far as I know."

"Could he have been killed?" asked Stonestar. He didn't like Redpaw at all, but he still felt guilty saying those words. "There was a rainstorm."

"I hope not," Wolfheart meowed grimly.

They padded out into the sun.

"Marshtumble," Stonestar called out. "Go to RiverClan and check if they have seen Redpaw. He's missing."

Marshtumble pelted out of the camp. Stonestar turned back to Wolfheart. "We can only hope that he's alive. Perhaps it's StarClan's call."

* * *

Quailfeather had not noticed Lichenfeather missing until the meeting at the Moonpool. Still, she had kept quiet about her disappearance to the other medicine cats.

"Where's Lichenfeather?" Lostsong of RiverClan had asked.

"She's not here tonight," Quailfeather had shrugged, "doing some kind of duty, like always. Helping out, you know."

She had seen the skeptical looks from the others. "What?"

Gorsetail shrugged and laid down. Then, they had shared dreams with StarClan.

Quailfeather shuddered as she awoke. She still remembered the dream vividly.

_She was standing in the middle of a gorge. These were not her eyes she was looking through; she could feel that. But there was a large ginger-and-white tom standing in front of her, looking furious. _

_ "I refuse to go," the tom meowed angrily. _

_ "But Billystar," Quailfeather pleaded, "you have to. The gorge is falling. The Clan will not survive unless you move."_

_ Who was this Billystar? And what was this other Clan? Billystar was not a proper name, she could tell. Perhaps this was a ragtag bunch of kittypets and rouges playing pretend. She wrinkled her nose. _

_ Quailfeather spent the rest of her dream trying to persuade this Billystar to move. Move where? She didn't know. _

_ "We are not moving out of this gorge! And that's final!"_

And when she woke up, she didn't care who moved where.

"What was your dream about?" Mistyeye of ShadowClan had asked.

"I saw wolves," Gorsetail had meowed, shuddering.

"I saw attacking rouges," whispered Lostsong, closing her eyes.

"I saw a dark forest," Mistyeye added. "What about you, Quailfeather?"

"Nothing important," Quailfeather meowed. They didn't press her; usually, if a medicine cat didn't want to share, it was best to not ask further.

Quailfeather was glad to get rid of Lichenfeather for a while. She was always so _helpful,_ so _altruistic._ It was always, "do you need any help, Quailfeather?" or "can I go collect some herbs for you?"

It was just really annoying.

* * *

Beetletail watched as a patrol walked into camp. He was laying under the willow tree, resting. It had been a long day, and the warm air hung in the air.

He had been the only one to notice Aspensong gone. It wasn't hard; the she-cat was usually talking about how there shouldn't be battles between the Clans, that they could all exist peacefully.

_Well, that's a bunch of dung, because we're bound to have war,_ Beetletail thought furiously. _It's natural instinct. Survival. If you can't fight, you can't live. _

Unless you were a kittypet. Beetletail was sick of Aspensong. She was so cowardly, she wasn't worthy of being a warrior. Sure, she had passed her assessment, but she did so reluctantly.

Beetletail hoped she was gone for good; maybe the rainstorm had killed her somehow; she could have tripped into the lake or gotten struck by lightning. Even so, Beetletail felt a pang of guilt of thinking that way.

Suddenly, he noticed that the patrol of four which had returned had a fifth member, one he recognized as a ShadowClan warrior: Marshtumble.

"Marshtumble? Is that you?" called Toadfur.

"Marshtumble, what are you doing here?" asked Larkstar.

"Stonestar sent me," Marshtumble replied. "Redpaw's missing. Have you seen him?"

"That arrogant tom," muttered Yellowtail from beside Beetletail. "I'm glad he's gone."

_Maybe Aspensong went with him. Oh, I never imagined…_ Beetletail smirked.

"Aspensong's missing too," he interrupted.

"Yes, Aspensong is missing," Larkstar agreed. "We don't know where she is."

"Perhaps StarClan has claimed a cat from all four Clans!" wailed Otterclaw. Beetletail scowled.

"Shut up, Otterclaw," he meowed lazily.

_Good riddance. _

* * *

Sparrowstar woke to see Whitepetal giving out patrol duties already. He greeted her (she greeted back) and they began to order the Clan around together.

Every warrior soon had a duty. Everyone except—

"Where's Hailfur?" muttered Whitepetal.

"Sleeping, again, probably," Sparrowstar sighed. It was typical for the white tom to sleep through the dawn, the morning, and even the sun-high. He had been doing that since his apprenticeship; Sparrowstar had no idea how he passed (perhaps he hadn't, maybe Firelark was impatient to get rid of Hailfur and just said he had completed his assessment).

"I'll go check," Hazellark meowed, passing by. Sparrowstar nodded.

A short while later, Hazellark returned. "He's not in the grass," she reported. Sparrowstar frowned. Had he gone out by himself? This was not typical Hailfur.

"All patrols, listen up!" yowled Whitepetal. The patrols of cats froze. "Hailfur is probably around the territory somewhere. If you find him, please tell him to come back. Thank you. Dismissed."

The patrols began to mutter and head out.

Then, as Sparrowstar waited, they returned, one by one, with no reported sight of the white tom.

This was very usual. Not that Sparrowstar cared much, but Hailfur was still a warrior of WindClan and it would look bad if they couldn't find him. But Hailfur already made WindClan look bad…

"Graypaw, Mothface, Darkflame, and Goosewhisker, go and scour the territory for him," growled Sparrowstar in frustration.

They nodded and left.

At dusk, they returned.

"We looked everywhere," Goosewhisker reported. "There's no sign of Hailfur."

"All right," sighed Sparrowstar. "We'll have to call of the search until tomorrow."

_Good._

* * *

**I'm suffering from writer's block in _Sunkit's Struggle_ :( Any ideas please PM me, thanks ^^ **

**Please don't try to post on the reviews, I want it to be a surprise for everyone! **

**~Batstar**


	12. Chapter 11

**I'm sorry for the huge, huge gap of time in between chapters, but the computer in which I had the documents on stopped working because 1) the web browsers kept freezing everytime something took too long to load and 2) the keyboard stopped responding. So I had to pause until my computer got fixed, and now it is. **

**Real life is catching up on me as high school begins to start, but hopefully I'll update at a regular interval. Happy reading! **

**~Batstar**

* * *

Redpaw did not feel comfortable in the Twolegplace, but he was determined not to show it, especially after Hailfur had saved him twice.

Redpaw's fury had shortly turned into frustration. How had Hailfur managed to do all these things when he, Redpaw, couldn't? He asked himself again and again, and could come up with no straight answer.

The Twolegplace stank of monsters and Twolegs and dogs. The air was hazy and the tall stone barriers were huge, and looking as if they could fall any minute and crush the warriors. Redpaw shivered. For the first time, he actually felt scared. Well, except for that wolf—wait, he wasn't scared. No, not at all…

"We should be careful," Aspensong meowed, "there's going to be rouges in the alleys."

"Duh," snorted Hailfur.

_That's my line,_ Redpaw fumed silently.

"Alleyway," warned Lichenfeather. They peeked in cautiously.

"Nothing," Hailfur meowed into the silence.

Then, as if on cue, a large tom leapt from the shadows. Aspensong yowled in fright. Redpaw snarled, jumped up, and caught the tom on the belly, causing him to stumble.

Hailfur shot out and pinned the tom down on the neck. Aspensong stepped forward cautiously and held the tom's writhering hindquarters. Redpaw placed both unsheathed paws on the tom's belly.

The tom winced as Redpaw's claws protruded his skin. He was completely helpless, and Redpaw sneered. Nothing made him more satisfied than seeing the defeated face of an enemy.

"What do you want?" he panted.

"What did _you_ want?" Hailfur shot back hotly. Lichenfeather gave him a warning look and padded to the tom's head.

"What's your name?" she asked gently.

"Why should I tell you?" the tom spat.

"Don't talk to her like that!" Hailfur snarled, adding pressure to the tom's neck. The tom began to wheeze.

"Stop it, Hailfur!" shrieked Aspensong. Redpaw frowned. Indeed, Hailfur had gotten a lot more protective and aggressive. And only within the span of three days.

Once Hailfur had released the hold a little, Lichenfeather continued.

"We just want to know."

"Well, tell me yours first," the tom growled.

Lichenfeather sighed. "All right, then. I'm Lichenfeather. This is Hailfur. That's Redpaw over there, and Aspensong in the back."

Redpaw stared at her, dumbfounded. Why was she giving away information? Surely, the tom wouldn't tell his name…

"I'm Sunny," he sighed. "It's a really stupid name. Laugh, and I'll kill you."

"Seeing the position you are in now, you can't, really," Redpaw meowed, appalled at this cat's lack of sense. "And there's four of us, in case you haven't noticed."

Sunny glared at him.

"Release him," Lichenfeather meowed. Redpaw scowled.

"Why?" he demanded. "He just made a death threat!"

"Well, don't laugh at him, then," Lichenfeather retorted. Aspensong took her paws off; Hailfur did so grudgingly, and finally, after a long pause, so did Redpaw.

Sunny jumped up and shook his pelt. He had amber eyes and ginger-and-black scruffy fur. He also had rather long ears and a mottled pelt, with muscles visible underneath.

"How old are you?" Redpaw blurted out.

"I'm 16 moons," Sunny replied. Redpaw was only ten.

"You're sure big for your age," Hailfur meowed, frowning. Aspensong looked worried.

"Are you warriors?" Sunny asked. All of them looked surprised. Redpaw was immediately suspicious.

"How do you know about warriors?" he growled. _What if he's a spy? Oh, Lichenfeather, don't you dare tell him anything…_

Sunny shrugged. "My father told me about warriors. He told me to… find some of you. Are you guys from the four Clans, or SkyClan?"

Redpaw narrowed his eyes. "How do you know so much?"

"My dad was once a SkyClan cat," Sunny meowed, shrugging nonchalantly. "He told me to find warriors and take me to SkyClan. I have… amends to make with them."

* * *

Although Lichenfeather did not trust Sunny, she didn't see anything bad in him either. "Give him a chance," she pleaded as Redpaw and Hailfur absolutely refused to let the mottled tom join their little quest.

She turned to Aspensong as the toms refused to change their minds. "Help me out here."

The tortoiseshell shrugged. "Come on, guys. He doesn't look like he could do much, with the four of us."

"Three," corrected Redpaw, glancing at Lichenfeather. "She's a medicine cat."

Lichenfeather pretended not to hear.

"Fine, then," Hailfur grudgingly said. Redpaw had no choice, to Lichenfeather's satisfaction, to agree then.

Sunny smiled warmly. "Thanks."

"See?" Lichenfeather said as they plowed ahead, leaving Sunny behind to walk with Aspensong. "He doesn't seem so bad."

"Yeah?" grunted Hailfur. "Why'd his father leave SkyClan, then?"

"What he is has nothing to do with his father," said Lichenfeather curtly.

"So? What if his father influenced him?" retorted Redpaw. For once, the two toms were at an agreement. Lichenfeather swallowed and fell silent, fuming in frustration that they weren't getting it. Why wouldn't they give anyone a chance?

* * *

"We're about here," Sunny said. "SkyClan is just past this forest."

"We _know,_" said Redpaw as Lichenfeather glared at him. "We saw it in our dreams."

Aspensong looked frightened as Sunny scowled at the russet tom. "At the prospect of a fight," she stuttered, "I'll go hunting. I'm not a part of this." She huffed and left before any of them could say anything.

"I'm going with her, then," Hailfur said, and disappeared after Aspensong. This left Lichenfeather, Redpaw, and Sunny alone.

"Well!" said Redpaw irritably.

"Come on, Redpaw, let's go hunting too!" Sunny exclaimed as if nothing had happened. "We can rest, then continue in the morning. Lichenfeather, you can stay here to save this spot." It sounded like a command. _And he's not even a Clan cat!_

Redpaw grunted. "That's what I was thinking, too," he said, and with that, he jumped through the bushes, Sunny following hurriedly. Lichenfeather was left alone.

"Fine, leave me!" she said bitterly to the open air. "Whatever, I'm used to it…"

And with that, she lay down upon the pile of dead leaves. It was nearly nightfall until they returned.

* * *

Aspensong trailed behind as the group trekked through the forest. Sunny chattered all day with Hailfur and Redpaw, even though the two shot dirty glares and only spoke no more than three words when he asked them a question. They never replied to Sunny's remarks and comments. Lichenfeather hovered around them, nervously looking for a time to stop a brewing argument.

_There's no use for a medicine cat, _thought Aspensong, _why did they call her?_

"We're almost there," Sunny said from up ahead. Redpaw struggled to keep up with the tom's fast-paced walking, and it gave Aspensong a brief moment of satisfaction as she watched the russet apprentice simmer in anger as, for the first time, he realized he couldn't be first in line.

"Here we are," announced Redpaw before Sunny could open his mouth. They were facing an open gorge, and below, shapes the forms of cats moved about. Ahead of them, a group—patrol, rather—of cats climbed out of the gorge and headed in the opposite direction, into the forest. They were strongly built and looked as lean as Clan cats.

"SkyClan!" whispered Hailfur excitedly. "We've reached them."


	13. Chapter 12

Lichenfeather made the mistake of calling out. The patrol immediately hopped out of the forest and glared at them.

"Who are you!" yowled the black-and-white tom in the lead. He, for some reason, had a collar around his neck.

"A kittypet?" whispered Redpaw to Hailfur in disdain. Hailfur shrugged.

"We're from the four Clans!" called Aspensong out nervously. Hailfur gritted his teeth. That she-cat had less nerves than a cornered mouse!

"Four Clans?" the black-and-white kittypet-warrior approached them, indicating with his tail that the rest of his patrol stay back. "ThunderClan, ShadowClan, RiverClan and…WindClan?"

"That would be correct," said Redpaw. Hailfur remained silent.

The black-and-white tom looked them over with narrowed eyes. Then, he frowned at the sight of Sunny. "S…Sol?"

"Sunny," corrected Sunny.

The black-and-white tom growled. "Don't make up names again, Sol."

"Sol's my father." Sunny looked at the warrior intensely. "I've no argument with you."

_Argument?_ Hailfur exchanged a glance with Aspensong and could tell they were thinking the same: _what argument? _

"Where are you from?" interrupted Hailfur.

"SkyClan," growled the black-and-white tom, still eyeing Sunny warily.

"StarClan called us here," said Redpaw. Then, he burst out: "why do you have a kittypet collar 'round your neck?"

"I'm a daylight warrior," said the tom stiffly. "I serve SkyClan during the day and return to my Twolegs in the night."

"Great StarClan, are all of you like that?" asked Redpaw, a disgusted look on his face.

The warrior scowled. "No, of course not."

Hailfur shot Redpaw a warning look, and Lichenfeather, Aspensong, and Sunny did the same. Redpaw sniffed and looked away.

"What's your name?" asked Lichenfeather.

"I'm Birchclaw," replied the black-and-white warrior. "My name used to be Macgyver."

"Oh," said Lichenfeather. "Do you mind… taking us to your camp?"

"Yes," growled Birchclaw. "We do mind. We've had… a couple of skirmishes with outsiders." He glared at Sunny, who returned his look proudly. "I'll get our leader."

"Yes, yes, we'll wait here," Lichenfeather meowed, looking flustered.

Birchclaw returned to his patrol and spoke with them, then with a glance towards Hailfur and his group, bounded down a rocky slope towards the bottom of the gorge. They waited.

A rather quick moment later, Birchclaw returned, this time with a ginger-and-white tom, a black tom, and a mottled light brown tabby she-cat, seemingly very young. She also wore a collar around her neck, though it was old and worn. Birchclaw cast another glance towards them and joined his patrol, which left into the forest.

"Is she a daylight warrior too?" asked Redpaw as the other cats approached.

"No," the ginger-and-white tom answered for her. "She refuses to take it off. We cannot stop her… she is our medicine cat."

"Oh," said Redpaw, a surprised look on his face. Lichenfeather smiled.

"I'm also a medicine cat."

"Wonderful," said the ginger-and-white tom curtly, waving his bushy tail before the SkyClan medicine cat could respond. "Now… let's get to the point. Birchclaw tells me you are from the four Clans… all of you?" he eyed Sunny warily.

_What on earth has Sol done here? _Thought Hailfur, bewildered. _ And has Sunny been part of it, too?_

"Not me," said Sunny quickly. "I'm from Twolegplace."

"Expected," said the ginger-and-white tom dismissively, though his gaze did not waver. "Now… your names?"

"I'm Hailfur," said Hailfur immediately. " This is Lichenfeather, Redpaw, and Aspensong. And Sunny, who we met in Twolegplace."

"Ah," the ginger-and-white tom said, as Redpaw glared at Hailfur. Hailfur let out a smile as he realized he'd beat Redpaw to the leadership role.

"Who're you?" asked Redpaw.

"I'm Billystar, leader of SkyClan," said the ginger-and-white warrior. "This is my deputy, Shrewtooth."

The black tom, Shrewtooth, jerked his head in a greeting.

"Billystar? What—"

"I too, was a daylight warrior, before I became a full member of SkyClan."

"Then—oh," Redpaw said, as Hailfur stepped on his paw. _How rude is that dumb tom?_

"Well… as I've heard from Birchclaw that _StarClan _called you, I suppose that we can… take you down. You may sleep with the warriors tonight, if you are to stay. And Redpaw, with the apprentices."

Hailfur let himself grin again as Redpaw looked furious.

"I've dreamt about them, you know," said the medicine cat as they walked down the rocky slope. Hailfur lingered at the back with Aspensong, whose fur was fluffed up, scared that she would slip. Hailfur growled and tried to grip the rocks with his claws.

"Have you?" Billystar said from ahead.

"Yes," replied the she-cat. "Two nights ago, I saw the leaders of the Clans bring their chosen warriors the message."

"What's your name?" asked Lichenfeather.

"My name is Frecklewish," said the medicine cat lightly.

"A nice name," said Lichenfeather. She seemed to have no problem with the slope. Hailfur saw, with bitter satisfaction, that Redpaw was having trouble navigating the rocks, too, but was determined not to show it.

Hailfur got an idea. He pushed his hind paws forward in a sort of sitting-squatting position, and leaned forward. The loose pebbles tumbled downward, bringing his body with them.

"Whoa!" Shrewtooth jumped aside with a scowl. Billystar was quick to follow, but Frecklewish was knocked down by Hailfur and they tumbled down together, and Hailfur's muzzle hit the rocky floor of the gorge painfully.

"Ommph. That hurt." He got up, groaning.

"Serves you right," sneered Redpaw as he passed the embarrassed WindClan tom.

"Let's not do that again," said Billystar lightly as they followed Redpaw into the gorge. Shrewtooth smirked, and Hailfur felt his fur grow hot as Frecklewish sniffed and stepped off of him.

"Was there a medicine cat before you?" asked Lichenfeather.

"Yes, Echosong," said Frecklewish. "She's up there now, with StarClan. She was a great mentor."

They were silent. Hailfur trailed behind with Aspensong, who had remained quiet so far.

"Here we are," Billystar announced as they reached the middle of the camp. SkyClan warriors cast curious glances at them; many scowled and whispered to each other at the sight of Sunny.

Billystar jumped onto a pile of rocks. Shrewtooth stood beside him below.

"All warriors who are old enough to climb trees gather around at the Rockpile for a Clan meeting!" the ginger-and-white leader announced.

The SkyClan cats assembled themselves. At the edge of his vision, Hailfur saw Birchclaw's patrol beginning to return, along with two others.

_This is really a Clan, _he realized. _What's wrong with it?_

Hailfur glanced around. Many warriors were whispering loudly to each other. He caught the words "outsiders," "Sol," "four Clans," "quest for StarClan," and "fat."

And then, he just noticed.

The SkyClan cats looked gaunt and skinny. Many ribcages showed through their skin, and some coughed. The three patrols that had arrived only brought a very small amount of prey, which they dropped onto a pitifully small fresh-kill pile.

_Wow. They're starving!_ Hailfur realized in alarm. He could tell that the others had been thinking the same thing; Redpaw's eyes were wide as he looked around, and Aspensong looked even more uneasy. Lichenfeather kept her eyes straight at Billystar, determined not to look at the situation in which she couldn't help. Only daylight warriors like Birchclaw didn't look as skinny.

_They have kittypet food to help them._

"We have visitors," announced Billystar, looking grave. "These four are from the other Clans: ThunderClan, RiverClan, ShadowClan, WindClan. And Sunny here is from Twolegplace—"

"You mean Sol?" yowled a white tom. He had a collar around his neck.

"No, Harveymoon, Sunny is Sol's _son_," Billystar told the daylight warrior, who looked outraged.

"How do you know he's not as bad as he is?" challenged a gray she-cat.

"Give him a chance," growled Shrewtooth from the front. Billystar nodded.

"Shrewtooth is right. We don't know if he's good or not yet." He faced Sunny, whose face remained stoic. "Prove yourself by working hard to support this Clan. Even though you are guests, I expect full warrior duties while you are here. Redpaw, do you have a mentor in this group?"

"I don't need a mentor," growled Redpaw.

"If you didn't need a mentor then you wouldn't be a 'paw," said Billystar. "How long do you plan to stay?"

"Er…"

"As long as we need, which is, hopefully, not too long," Aspensong spoke up. Hailfur felt a spike of surprise at her courage.

"… okay, then," Billystar said, frowning slightly at the "as long as we need" part. "I will assign you a mentor until your departure, Redpaw. I believe, like your leader, that it is important that you get in every bit of time for your training. Harveymoon, you will mentor Redpaw for now."

_Harveymoon?_ The white tom with the collar who had shouted out before strode his way to the front, nodding a greeting to Redpaw, who didn't return the gesture.

"Shrewtooth will assign the patrols," Billystar continued, "and the four remaining cats: Lichenfeather, Aspensong, Sunny, and Hailfur, please continue on your warrior duties like normal. Lichenfeather, you are welcome to go to the medicine den if you wish."

"With pleasure," she replied.

_Aw, I thought I would get a break from duties,_ thought Hailfur. Reluctantly, he went to Shrewtooth as Billystar concluded the meeting and dismissed them all. SkyClan functioned like a normal Clan, and besides the hunger, he could seen nothing wrong with them. _Perhaps it's just a famine time. They'll get it over it._

Redpaw looked miserable beside Harveymoon. Hailfur smiled crookedly.

"I think we'd better show you three the warrior's den and where to sleep," Shrewtooth said as he addressed Hailfur, Aspensong, and Sunny. "Creekfeather can do that. Redpaw, you can go with Ploverpaw to see the apprentice's den before you go training with Harveymoon. Plumwillow, Bouncefire, Tinycloud, and Firestorm, you can go on a border patrol. Birchclaw, Sootpaw, Harrytail, and Junipercloud, go hunt…"

"Come on," Creekfeather said, beckoning them with his tail. He was a brown tabby tom who was almost skinnier than the rest.

"Are you guys okay?" Sunny asked as they climbed the rocky hills to the warriors' den, an alcove in the stone wall.

"What do you mean?" Creekfeather asked sharply.

"Well… you guys look kind of… unfed?"

"We don't gorge ourselves," Creekfeather replied, glancing subcontiously at Hailfur.

They remained silent.

"Here's the warriors' den," said Creekfeather lightly as they neared the alcove. "I'll arrange with my Clanmates to make nests for a sleeping place. Until then… I guess you should go ask Shrewtooth for patrols. Maybe we can form one ourselves. There's a lot to do today."


End file.
